1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for improving the fillability of tobacco, such as cut tobacco leaves or ribs or tobacco additives by treatment with a nitrogen and/or argon-containing treatment gas at pressures up to 1000 bar in an autoclave and a heat treatment following the decompression.
2. Background of the Invention
Processes of this type are known from German Pat. No. 2,903,300 and related Ziehn U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,148, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference and relied upon and German Pat. No. 3,119,330 and related Ziehn U.S. application Ser. No. 378,390 filed May 14, 1982, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,310, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference and relied upon. In these processes, during the high pressure gas treatment with nitrogen, working takes place in the range 150 to 1000 bar and during treatment with argon in the pressure range 50 to 800 bar.
The problem of the present invention is to improve these known processes and in particular to perform them economically and continuously. A further problem of the invention is to improve the fillability of those tobacco types or additives, which cannot be swollen in a satisfactory manner by the known processes.
Hereinafter, the term tobacco not only covers cut tobacco leaves and ribs, but also torn tobacco leaves, such as are used in cigar manufacture, as well as other tobacco products and additives.
Tobacco additives, inter alia, include the following fibrous natural products: buds of Cinnamomum Lassia, seeds of Apium graveoleus, cellulose fibres, Eugenia caryophyllata, seeds of Cumium cymium, various dried fruits of, e.g., apples, plums, figs, as well as roots of Glycyrriza glabra, as well as Folium liatris.